The Left vilifies them, the mainstream media spread lies about them, and yet the majority of Americans have no idea who Charles and David Koch are. According to a new George Washington University poll, 52 percent of Americans have never heard of the Koch brothers, the billionaire businessmen and major conservative donors.
The poll, conducted by the Tarrance Group and Lake Research, also finds that 25 percent of Americans have an unfavorable impression of the Kochs, while 12 percent have a favorable one. Eleven percent had no opinion.
But that doesn’t mean the Democrats’ attacks on the brothers won’t work among liberal Democrats. The poll found that the party’s liberal base is more likely than the general public to know who the Koch brothers are.
Among self-identified liberal Democrats, only 43 percent had never heard of the Kochs — 9 points lower than the general public. And 45 percent had a negative opinion of the two brothers — 20 points higher than the general public.
Attacking the Koch brothers has become part of the Democrats’ 2016 election strategy. Last month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused the brothers of being “un-American” and “trying to buy America,” Fox News reports, and the political attacks have continued since.
With a 35 percent unfavorable rating, however, more Americans disapprove of the Senate majority leader than of the Koch brothers, according to the GWU poll.